Ship-protector



F. GEROIANNE.

SHIP PROTECTOR, APPLICATION HLED sEPT- 4, I918.

1,395,81 3. Batented Nov. 1, 1921.

2 SHEETSSHEET l- &

b v nammo/Mo: ge aian/ze F. GEROIANNE. SHiP PROTECT-OR.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT-4,1918- 1,895,8 1 3. I Patented Nov. 1, 1921.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

narran stares FRANCESCO GERQIANNE, OF SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS.

SHIP-PROTECTOR.

v Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 1, 1921.

Application filed September 4, 1918. Serial No. 252,653.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, FnANonsoo GnnorANNn, a subject of the King of Italy, residing at San Antonio, in the county of Bexar and State of Texas, have .invented certain new and useful Improvements in Ship Protectors; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact descrlptlon of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to ship protectors, and more particularly to means for protecting ships from torpedoes and floating mlnes.

One of the main objects of the invention is to provide a protector of the character stated of simple construction and operation which may be readily applied to a ship of standard construction without necessitating any material changes in the construction of the ship itself.

A further object is to provide a protector by means of which a hole blown in the hull of the ship may be readily stopped temporarily so as to prevent sinking of the ship until it can reach port and be permanently repaired.

A further object is to provide a plurality of mats which are slidably mounted on the sides of the hull'of the ship, these mats being normally held in raised position above the water line and means being provided whereby any one of said mats, selectively, may be lowered so as to cover an opening blown in the hull of the-ship.

A still further object is to provide means for use in conjunction with the mats for preventing contact of floating mines with the ship.

Further objects will appear from the detailed description.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a side View of a ship of conventional construction showing protecting means constructed in accordance with my invention applied.

Fig. 2 is a transverse vertical section.

Fig. 8 is a section taken substantially on line 33 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary detail sectional View showing one of the windlasses for lowering the mats.

Fig. 5 is an enlarged sectional view of one of the lower pulleys.

In carrying my invention into effect, I

mount a plurality of Windlasses 1 upon the deck A of the ship B adjacent each side C thereof, these windlasses being'disposed substantially' in axial alinement. The. drum 2 of each windlass is rotatably supported in suitable uprights 3, each of these drums being provided adjacent one end with a ratchet wheel 4: secured thereon with which engages a gravity pawl 5 pivotally secured on the adjacent upright 3. Two cables 6 have their upper end portions wound upon drum 2, these cables being passed beneath grooved pulleys 7 rotatably supported by suitable brackets 8 adjacent the bottom D of the hull of the ship and then secured, as at 9, to a substantially rectangular mat 10 which is slidable upon the outer face of the ship hull. This mat is normally releasably held in raised position by a latch indicated generally by 11 of suitable type mounted on the side of the ship and engaging a cooperating element carried by the mat. The mats 10 are slidably operative between the side walls C of the ship hull and the guide members 12 which have their heads 12 spaced away from the sides C of the ship, the mats being thus guided in their downward movement closely adjacent the ship sides.

In practice, a relative great number of these mats will be provided extending about the hull of the ship and normally supported above the water line indicated by the line a2 in Fig. 1. In the event that the ship is struck by a torpedo or a mine below the water line, the mat which is above the hole blown in the ship hull by explosion of the mine or torpedo is drawn downwardly along the side of the ship so as to cover the hole made, this mat being held tightly in position by the water pressure thus effectually stopping'the hole and permitting the ship to proceed to a port for permanent repair. This lowering of the mat is readily accomplished by turning drum 2 of the Windlass l, by means of the hand wheel 13 secured thereon for this purpose, in such direction as to wind the cables 6 upon said drum thus pulling the mat loose from the latch 11 and moving it downwardly a proper distance so as to stop the hole in the manner above stated. This mat may be, of course, constructed of any suitable material but should, preferably, be comparatively light but very strong and flexible while possessing sufiicient rigidity to normally retain its proper shape.

It will be realized that since the mats are flexible the particular mounting of the cables shown will maintain the mats stretched in engagement with the guide means or members 12.

It will'be evident that there may be slight changes made in the construction and arrangement of the details of my invention without departing from the field and scope of the same, and intend to include all such variations, asfall within the scope of the appended claim, in this application in which a preferred form only of my invention is disclosed.

What I claim is:

A ship having a mat for disposition over the exterior of its hull, a latch to secure the mat adjacent to the deck, a winding drum on the deck, guide means for the mat, cables associated with the drum, said cables also being associated with the'mat adjacent of the lower corners of the mat, and guide means for the cables on the hull.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

FRANCESCO GEROIANNE.

Witnesses SALVATORE RIsIoA, SAM RIsIoA. 

